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Cool to see him using the same melanger that many of us have gotten from Premier. Interesting flavors and some information on recipe development. @Kerry Beal while their chocolate looks well tempered, they could probably use an EZ Temper to help with their workflow. 🙂 https://youtu.be/E2g-QZG4Vbg?si=pyK4eF2uxU1LTluj

TL;DR: Making a Duck Cake is really as painful as it is made out to be and I think I made it sufficiently daggy. The Women's Weekly published a children's birthday cake book, by Pamela Clark in 1980. Children would pour over the book to pick out the cake they wanted for their birthday and it became a cultural icon and a thing of nostalgia. Some of the cakes were particularly difficult to construct and in an interview, the author suggested about one, "If you're picking up this book for the very first time, turn to the tip truck and glue those pages together, and never look back. It's not an easy cake to make. Trust me. I know." Fast forward to 2021 and the children's cartoon show Bluey was becoming very popular and was picked up in Europe and by the Disney Channel. And one of the episodes had the father, Bandit, attempting to make a duck cake at the insistence of his daughter. Now, in various corners of the internet, people are posting their attempts at recreating the duck cake. Women's Weekly has kindly published the recipe with a photo of what it should look like. I don't have kids, but decided to have a go for my partner's birthday/retirement party. She was dubious. I couldn't leave the recipe alone because I don't like cake mixes so I used my mom's quick sponge cake recipe and Betty Crocker's butter cream frosting. I kind of messed up the cake by trying to double the batch, which wouldn't fit into my mixer and the cake ended up too soft and kept ripping up as I frosted it. Carving the head and neck took two attempts and still didn't seem right. Still it was going ok until the tail collapsed. I soldiered on, using many extra bamboo skewers to hold it together. So I present to you my daggy duck cake rev. 1.0: I have a feeling it is not going to survive the hour-long trip to the party venue.

Opened the Washington Post and learned that Chef Roland Mesnier has died. I never met him but have enjoyed baking from and reading two of his cookbooks. RIP. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/roland-mesnier-in-memoriam-1944-2022 https://www.chefrolandmesnier.com/about/history-timeline/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/08/27/roland-mesnier-pastry-chef-white-house-dead/

Guests arrive this week on Thursday afternoon and the Double Chocolate Mousse Bombe birthday cake is to be served at Saturday lunch for two of the gentlemen. That's two days later. And it was specifically requested and agreed to. This chocolate cake is refrigerated and contains both a milk chocolate and a dark chocolate mousse, and is covered by a chocolate glaze which the instructions suggest you apply only 30 minutes before serving (and which I cannot realistically do.) In fact, the entire cake is now practically speaking beyond my energy level these days...but there you are...don't bother going there, please. I've now already listened to a lecture by my dear Ed ( who never listens to sense himself.) The cookbook says you can refrigerate the cake with the two mousses up to 48 hours before serving. That would mean making the second mousse Thursday morning for lunch on Saturday morning. Could I realistically make the cake on Wednesday? Or is that pushing it just too far? The recipe comes from One Cake, One Hundred Desserts, by Greg Case and Keri Fisher, 2006. Plus I have salads to make and they can't be made far ahead either: potato salad, cucumber salad, pepper salad, tabbouleh, and bean salad. I'm planning on laying them out in a sort of mise en place style ahead of time. Might just skip the potato salad. Yes, I used to be able to do all this...but that was then and this is now. I would say that this is definitely the last time I do this at all. The last three years have not been good ones health wise. Sorry to whine while asking Pastry & Baking questions.

I sit here, eating a slice of King Cake, and I am reminded of a subject that I’ve thought about before. Coffee Cake. we’ve all baked hundreds of cakes over the years, I’ll wager, but what separates cake from what we call Coffee Cake? What are the defining characteristics? What makes it Coffee Cake? Can anyone answer this? I got a very good coffee cake recipe from Southern Cakes, but this question still bothers me

Recently I watched a visit to an Entemann's bakery where they ran all the doughnuts under a UV light to kill mold spores before packaging. A few days later I was at Staples, where they had 'room sanitizing' UV lights on clearance and I'm thinking it couldn't hurt to get one and shine it on my bonbons before I cap them. Also to sanitize the kitchen in general, especially the walk-in fridge. Does anyone have experience with UV lights in a food production setting? Will the cheap one from the office supply store help me at all? thanks!

Ever since Todd talked making cupcakes I have been cupcake crazy. Although, I am not a cake maker but more of a pie person. My first dessert that I love that I make is my Coconut Cream Pie w/heavy whipped cream. I don't use low fat anything and probably angioplasties is necessary after this baby. My second is Peach Cobbler w/rich vanilla ice cream. I never met a cobbler that I didn't like, but peach is my favorite. I don't make these often because I wouldn't be able to get through the front door if I did. How about yours? .....Janet

I own this pan, which I bought 30 years ago in a general store in Fredericksburg Tx. It’s heavy cast aluminum. I love him, but I have issues every time I try to make a gingerbread in it. If the recipe isn’t dense enough, it falls apart at the arms and legs. If it rises and not pressed down, the head cracks at the neck. I have a tasty recipe, but can’t get it to work, and I’m thinking because it uses hot water it makes the cake too light. The grands like the lighter cake as opposed to the denser one, but I’m thinking there must be a trick to make this guy come out intact. Never once has it popped out intact. I can fix the head with a tie, but there must be a way, or another recipe that would be tasty and keep him intact. Any ideas? It will hold a bit less than a standard 9x13 pan, without going over. I spray the heck out of this pan, but I think it’s the recipe that needs to be changed out...

I am having MAD cravings for the original recipies from TaskyKake. I remember growing up with tastykake when it was wrapped in wax paper. Has anyone managed to duplicate the butterscotch krimpets? Does anyone have a recipe for them? If you have one I would appreciate it. Thanks

Anyone have a favorite recipe for chocolate cake using semisweet chocolate? My usual chocolate cake recipe uses cocoa, but I have some samples of chocolate I want to use up for a workplace party. Yes, I could make brownies or ganache frosting, or chocolate mousse or chocolate chunk cookies, just feeling like cake this weekend ...

Has anyone used Valrhona Absolut Crystal neutral glaze particularly to thicken a coulis or to glaze a tart? If so, how did you like it and is there another glaze you think worked as well but is less expensive or can be purchased in smaller quantities?

Hello all! I am excited present a cake that has taken weeks of mental planning and troubleshooting. What I will say is that making this cake has taught me so much about mastering a technique rather than a recipe, and I think that lies at the heart of what it takes to be a good baker. I wanted to re-create the flavors of ginger ale by making a cake that was very ginger-forward, but that also that was balanced and scrumptious. The start of the recipe is the crystallized ginger. ¾ cup ginger, peeled and sliced to 1/8th in thick 3 cups water ¾ cups sugar Peel about 8 oz fresh ginger root. Slice the ginger on a bias; I used a mandolin to get my slices even thickness. Add to saucepan with high sides, and pour the water over top. Bring to a boil and reduce to a strong simmer for 30-35 min. Take off the heat and drain the broth, reserving 3 tablespoons (I saved the rest of the broth in ice trays, and it will go in teas and shakes). Add sugar and water to drained ginger and place on medium high heat. Stir constantly until water dissolves and sugar recrystallizes on ginger's surface, about 10 minutes. Pour onto sheet pan to cool completely and dry, at least 1 hour. Since I was already peeling ginger, I went ahead and peeled some more for my ginger jelly. Shout out to the eGullet community: I asked*** about how to create some sort of jam or jelly to fill the cake, and you guys provided such great help. I adapted some techniques from a few recipes to come up with one of my own, and I think it came out quite well. ⅔ cup ginger, peeled and grated or chopped in food processor 5 cups water 2 cups sugar 1 medium lemon, zested and juiced seeds from lemon 1 packet liquid pectin Add ginger and water to saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer for 10 minutes. Then add sugar, lemon juice, and zest to pan and increase heat to medium high. Allow to boil for 15 minutes, then add pectin and stir. Cook for another 5 minutes and then remove from heat to cool completely. Consider using a piece of cling-film on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. When cooled, run through a fine mesh strainer to remove ginger chunks. I went with a genoise sponge because it's my favorite sponge to make. It's very simple, very elegant, and very easy to customize. I tried replacing 1 egg with 3 egg yolks and I think this is going to be new baseline genoise recipe. Also sorry for switching to grams from here on, I just always do cakes in metric 7 whole eggs, extra large or "jumbo" 3 egg yolks 250 g sugar 200 g whole wheat pastry flour 50 g corn starch 1 tsp ground ginger ½ tsp ground turmeric 30 g butter, melted and warm but not hot Separate 3 eggs and reserve the whites. Add yolks to additional whole eggs and sugar and whip on medium-high speed for 8 minutes, until you have reached ribbon stage. In the meantime, sift together dry ingredients, pre-heat your oven to 350˚F, and line two 9-inch tins with parchment. Do not grease the tins as the cake needs to climb the sides of the pan. Once eggs and sugar are whipped, add dry mix, one heaping tablespoon at a time, with mixer on lowest possible speed. Once flour is almost completely incorporated, add a few dollops to butter and mix vigorously. Add buttered batter to main batter and fold in with rubber spatula, being careful not to deflate the batter. Once fully mixed in, split between two tins (roughly 500g mix each if using "jumbo" eggs). Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes. Remove, allow to cool for 10 minutes, and release by running offset spatula on outside to free from sides. Invert cake, remove parchment, and place back on cooling rack to cool completely. When ready to use, split into 2 layers each, 4 layers total. Brush each exposed side with milk (or simple syrup). This buttercream is special to me because I have been learning about confectionary lately, marshmallows in particular. This was a recipe I developed that was inspired by marshmallow fluff + Italian meringue buttercream. The idea of the barley malt syrup is that it has a strong, malty flavor that feels very ale-y when added to sharp ingredients like ginger. 200 g barley malt syrup 100 g water (I used ginger broth from crystallized ginger!) 210 g sugar 3 egg whites ½ tsp cream of tartar 1 ½ tsp ground ginger ½ tsp ground turmeric ¼ tsp sea salt 350 g butter, at room temperature Heat syrup, water and sugar over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Then, reduce to medium and bring temperature up to 118˚C (I got to about 115˚ and my pan started scorching, so I aborted there. Try swirling the syrup every now and then and use a pan with quite high sides). Once at temperature, remove from heat and whip eggs and cream of tartar until frothy. Pour syrup into egg whites while on medium speed and then increase to medium-high speed to whip until room temperature. While whipping, add ginger, turmeric and salt. Once cool, add butter 2 tbsp at a time on medium-low speed. Stop mixer, scrape down sides, and whip on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes until smooth. To assemble, place a small dollop of frosting on the cake stand and place one layer of sponge. Make frosting border and fill with half the jam. Place next sponge on top and using large ice cream scoop, add 3 scoops frosting to the top of the sponge. Even out layer and take remaining frosting out to cake edges. Place next layer on top, repeat border and jelly, and finish with the final cake layer. Add 5 scoops to the top of the sponge and even out to thin layer, taking remaining frosting out to the edges and covering the sides. Once crumb coated, place in fridge for 20 minutes. Then take out and frost with remaining buttercream. Smooth out sides and top of cake and adorn with candied ginger. Such a nice result and such a tasty cake. Using milk as my soak has really improved the texture of the final sponge, which is super supple and moist. I think 3 egg yolks might be the key to the cake being so moist. It's a sturdy sponge with a tender crumb, and the turmeric actually calms the fury of the ground ginger and produces a very mellow fragrance that you smell right before you take a bite.

I remember making bundt cakes with 'baked-in' filling, and now I wonder: would a basic fruit curd stand up to being baked in the middle of a bundt cake without horrible texture fail? Could something like this basic curd work, chilled enough to allow it to be applied with a pastry bag over the half-filled bundt cake batter, and topped with more batter? Dreaming now of a pistachio cake with pomegranate filling, but thinking about other combinaions as well--what are the key characteristics required in a 'bake-in' filling? 2/3 cup sugar 2 T cornstarch 1 cup pomegranate juice 1/4 cup lemon juice 5 egg yolks, whisked together 1/3 cup butter, cut into chunks Stirred the sugar, cornstarch and juices together until there were no lumps, then brought it to about 160 degrees. Gradually added it to the whisked eggs, returned to heat, brought to near boil so the cornstarch thickened, then strained it into a bowl, whisked in the butter, and poured into serving dishes to chill.

So, what is everyone doing for the pastry & baking side of Easter? I'm working on the following chocolates: fruit & nut eggs, hollow bunnies, Jelly Belly filled bunnies, coconut bunnies, dragons (filled with rice krispies & chocolate), peanut butter hedgehogs, and malted milk hens. Hoping to finish my dark chocolate production today and get started on all my milk chocolate items. My father-in-law will be baking the traditional family Easter bread a day or two before Easter. Its an enriched bread and he makes two versions -- one with raisins and one without (I prefer the one with raisins). And I was lucky enough to spot this couple in the sale moulds stock at last year's eGullet chocolate & confections workshop in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. These love bunnies help so very much with Easter chocolate production! ;-)

I've been doing mirror glazed cakes for a while, and finally decided to try a spider web effect. It "kind of worked", but of course it could have been a little better. I include a photo, it is a lemon-blueberry entremet cake. I would like to know a little more about the chemistry behind the effect - I know it is mainly due to a contrast of temperature between the freshly poured mirror glaze (at around 98F but sitting on a frozen surface, so it immediately cools down a lot) - and the hot (perhaps 125F) neutral glaze with the contrasting color. My question is - apart from the temperature, is there a difference in density that is needed? anybody knows how the neutral glaze compares to most mirror glaze formulas in terms of density? I know I could try and calculate it, but I am using a store-bought neutral glaze and the precise composition is not available. can a spider web effect be produced with mirror glaze at low temp and a similar composition of glaze at higher temperature? Probably it would not "smear" as nicely, though... I am rambling... but honestly, I've searched for more explanations on this everywhere... no luck

Hi everyone!! As stated at my personal info, I am a single father who would love to make cakes for my kids without using an oven because we do not have an oven. I could use some help about this kind of cake. If you have any hidden recipes or info that I could use, it is much appreciated. Again, thank you for accepting me in this great site. Hope to hear to people who would like to help me out.

I developed this recipe for a friend who wound up with many cans of Solo brand apricot filling and was wondering what to make with them. I adapted this recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum's Sour Cream Coffee Cake, found on page 90 of the Cake Bible. The apricot filling works it way down through the cake and winds up near the bottom of the pan, making an attractive top later when the cake is inverted. Please use some sort of ring pan that holds at least 9 cups. You may substitute butter for the toasted almond oil, but remember that the oil adds flavor. I specifically developed this recipe with the home cook in mind, regular salted butter, and AP flour work well here. To reduce the sodium, use unsalted butter. Ingredients 113 grams (1 stick) salted butter 26 grams toasted almond oil 200 grams sugar 6 grams vanilla extract 4 egg yolks 160 grams regular sour cream (do not use low fat or fat free) 50 grams almond meal 175 grams all-purpose flour 2 1/2 grams baking powder 2 1/2 grams baking soda 12 ounces (1 can) Solo Apricot Filling 12 Servings Preheat the oven to 350° Spray a 9+ cup tube or Bundt pan with non-stick spray or grease with an oil & soy lecithin blend. Lightly toast the almond meal in a frying pan on the stove top until it has a light beige color and has a mild fragrance. Allow to cool. Cream together the butter, oil, and sugar. Add the vanilla and egg yolks, mix until the mixture is even and creamy. Add the sour cream and mix well. Add the cooled almond flour and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the liquid mixture and mix until it everything is evenly incorporated. Do not overmix the batter. Place 2/3 of the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Place the apricot filling in an even layer on top, keeping a small space between the filling and the pan's edges. Place the remaining batter on top and smooth to create a relatively even surface. Bake for approximately 50 minutes at 350° or until the top is dark brown and springs back to a light touch. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Invert the pan onto a serving plate. Cool and serve. Be cautious about serving this hot, as the apricot filling can cause serious burns. When fully cooled, cover or wrap in plastic wrap to store. Will keep for several days in a cool, dry place. Nutrition (thanks MasterCook!) 324 calories, 15g fat, (7g sat fat, 6g mono-unsat fat, 1g ploy-unsat fat), 5g protein, 43g carbohydrates, 175mg sodium, 101mg potassium, 58g calcium 42% calories from fat, 52% calories from carbohydrates, 6% calories from protein

Good Morning everyone. Does anyone have a tried and true Marble Cake recipe to share? Thank You so much

Something I wonder about but have yet to attempt ... i usually make Swiss or Italian meringue buttercream with egg whites. Occasionally I make egg yolk buttercream if I have excess yolks. Is there any reason why one couldn’t make whole egg buttercream? Whole eggs whip up plenty fluffy for genoise, what if you added hot syrup and cool butter? 🤔

The basic formula for these cakes was developed by the wife of a mayonnaise salesman in an effort to help him out. I did a bit of research, and have found many variations. Early variants generally involve using less cocoa, which I cannot recommend. Later variants involve using cold water instead of boiling, adding salt, and additional leaveners. I personally do not feel that any additional salt is needed, as mayonnaise and that famous, tangy brand of salad dressing (sometimes the label just says 'Dressing') both contain a fair amount of salt. If you are using homemade mayonnaise or a low sodium product, an eighth teaspoon of salt may boost the flavor a bit. And, of course, somewhere along the way fans who prefer a certain salad dressing over mayonnaise started using it to make this cake. Nowadays, the Hellman's website has a different formula -one with added eggs and baking powder. I have not tried this newer formulation. Some versions of this recipe specify sifted cake flour. This will result in a very light cake with virtually no structural integrity, due to the paucity of eggs in this recipe compared to a regular cake. Cupcakes made this way give beautifully light results. However, every time I try to make a traditional 8" double layer cake with cake flour, I experience collapse. I recommend AP flour or at least a mix of cake and pastry flour. I have never made this with a gluten-free flour replacer. This recipe does not have very much structural integrity and as such does not make a good candidate for a gluten-free cake. I have made this cake many times, the type of sandwich spread you choose will affect the outcome. Made with mayonnaise, the cake has a good chocolate flavor and moistness. Made with that famous, tangy, off-white salad dressing that gets used as a sandwich spread, the cake has a subtle bit of extra brightness to the flavor. If one chooses to use a vegan mayonnaise, the result is tasty but lacking a little in structure; I would bake this in a square pan and frost and serve from the pan. The cocoa you use will also affect the flavor. For a classic, homey flavor use a supermarket brand of cocoa. To add a little sophistication, use better, artisan type cocoa and use chocolate extract instead of the vanilla extract. Supposedly, the traditional frosting for this cake should have a caramel flavor. Look for one where you actually caramelize some sugar first. Modern recipes for the icing seem like weak imitations to me; using brown sugar as the main flavor instead of true caramel. Chocolate Mayonnaise or Salad Dressing Cake makes enough for two 8" round pans, or a 9" square (about 7 cups of batter) 2 ounces/56g unsweetened, non-alkalized cocoa 1 cup/236g boiling water 1 teaspoon/4g regular strength vanilla extract 3/4 cup/162g mayonnaise, vegan mayonnaise, or salad dressing (the tangy, off-white, sandwich spread type dressing) 10.5ounces/300g all-purpose flour 7 ounces/200g sugar 0.35ounce/10g baking soda Preheat your oven to 350°. Grease or spray two 8" round pans or an equivalent volume square or rectangle. Place the cocoa in a medium (4-5 cup) bowl. Add the hot water and stir with a fork to break up any clumps. Allow to cool down a little, then add the vanilla extract and the mayonnaise or salad dressing spread. Beat well to eliminate lumps. In the bowl of an electric mixer or larger regular bowl if making by hand, sift in the flour and add the sugar and baking soda. Mix the dry ingredients to distribute evenly. Slowly beat in the cocoa mixture. Mix until the batter has an even color. Pour immediately into the pans. If making two 8" rounds, weigh them to ensure they contain equal amounts. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until the center of the top springs back when touched lightly. (The toothpick test does NOT work well on this moist cake!) Allow the cake to cool a little and shrink from the sides of the pan before removing. Removal is easier while still a little warm. Good with or without frosting. Good beginner cake for kids to make.

The subject heading says it all. Today is my birthday and as usual I am making my cake. Sunday is Ed's birthday and so at this point, we are sharing this cake. And, of course, I have made cakes for our children, our parents, and all sorts of friends. A dear friend dropped over this afternoon with a plate of brownies as a gift and on her birthday, I always make her a new version of a peanut butter and chocolate pie. Imagine a wonderful cake bought from a terrific bakery...I don't think we have any terrific bakeries in the small city near us. We lived in it for 25 years and now 23 years outside it, and I sure don't remember any good bakeries. Or imagine having someone else make you a birthday cake. Fair to boggles the mind. Who makes your birthday cake?

we're all used to the Wednesday/Sunday food sections of newspapers far and wide, national and local. I see corrections in the local or regional columns when called for, but there's never a way to critique the ones published on a national scale because the content is behind a paywall. I get the WSJ, but don't want to pay additional (I should get access to it all on line for free-the newspaper is not cheap) for their online edition. Very frustrating to try a recipe and have major problems with it and not be able to point out some serious issues. Specifically, the WSJ published a recipe from Dee Retalli, a pastry chef in London who's recipe is in the cookbook 'Rustic' by Jorge Fernandez and Rich Wells. I have made this cake 3 times. First time was a total runover disaster, which I should have foreseen. This cakes calls for a 10" springform or if you don't have that, a 10" cast iron skillet. I went for the latter because that is what I had. Almond mixtures tend to really smoke when they run over, just so you know. Tried again later with a deeper than normal 9 " springform. Happened again. Think it has to do with the 2 teaspoons of baking powder and quick activation in a 350º oven. Invested in a 10" springform for '3rd times a charm' try. I was successful, but not because I followed the directions, rather I became a little obsessed with making this work. Checked my oven, followed with the recipe and eyed it warily. It came up to the brim...and stayed. 45 minutes later it was supposed to be done but while it was beautiful, it was a bowl of jello in the center. It was also browning at an alarming rate- the almond flour again? So I placed a sheet of tinfoil over it (beautiful top crust) and turned the oven down to 325º and carefully watched and tested for almost another hour. That's a big time difference. I found the recipe on cooked.com - credited to the above authors and cookbook albeit in Euro style measures and temps. All seems the same, so what are the odds that the recipe was misprinted twice from 2 different media? All I can think of is somewhere down the line (in the cookbook itself?) the cook time and temp were off. The time on both reads 45 min. The recipe took at least 1hr and 45 minutes. methinks someone left out the hour... The temp. thing is a little more obvious. Celcius to farenheight 350ºF does not equal 180ºC, more like 176ºC. Over almost 2 hours, I think that could make the difference between cooked and burnt? Sooo, I turned it down when I saw how fast it was browning to 325. The cake stays in form while you pour the honey over it, then orange water, then 2(!!!) cups of sliced toasted almonds. I put 1 cup and there is no way another cup would have stayed on that cake. I cup settled up to almost an inch on a 10" cake... Has anyone else tried this recipe or have the cookbook? It's a wonderful cake if you correct the time and temp., But I'd be really curious to see if anyone followed it exactly as written with success?

Cake construction question - I have a wedding cake order next month for about 175 people. I think it's going to be 14" round, 12" round, double-height 9" round, and a separated 6" layer with her great-grandma's cake topper. My question is about the double-height layer. Should I layer cake and filling as usual but just make it super tall, or will whomever has to cut the thing appreciate it if there's a goo-free zone of cake-cardboard-cake in the middle so they can separate it into 2 x 9" cakes or more easily cut it? I mean, I could make two regular layers with 5 layers of cake and 4 layers of filling, not frost the top of one and just stack the other on top, or I could make one giant cake with 10 layers of cake, 9 filling, and no cardboard in the middle. I almost never have to cut cakes so I don't know if it matters but I thought I'd ask. The filling will either be salty caramel or raspberry, and the icing will be meringue buttercream, not as sturdy to handle as a crusting icing or fondant. Or any other tips on giant wedding cakes? Thanks!

Does anyone know the 'science' behind the hot water sponge? Best ratio to dry ingredients etc ? An friend of a friend of mine has a recipe for the most amazingly light sponge I have ever tasted. Unfortunately it's her family's secret recipe from a few generations ago and she doesn't share it, ever! My research has led me to believe it might be a hot water sponge but I cant find out any science about it. Why it works, what does it do, what are the critical factors for success etc. The amount of hot water seems to vary considerably from 1/2-1 cup for an average size cake, and recipes vary as the whether the hot water is boiling or not but I can't find out why.

Last August I ate dinner at a place called Ester in Sydney. Dessert was something listed on the menu as "chocolate liquorice bullet cake". It was a normal-looking slice of chocolate cake with 2-3 layers, a dense (but, I think, not flourless) texture, and a wonderful chocolate/liquorice flavor. My question: does "bullet cake" actually mean something here? Googling turns up various gun-themed cakes, which is something completely different.